Australia's exports of education services

Australia’s education services exports have continued to grow in importance this decade. Since 1982, education services exports have grown at an average annual rate of around 14 per cent in volume terms, with their share in the value of total exports increasing from less than 1 per cent to almost 6 per cent in 2007. They have now displaced leisure travel services as Australia’s largest service export. Indeed, education exports are now Australia’s third largest export, behind only coal and iron ore.

This article examines the growth of education services exports in recent decades, the importance of Asia as a market for education exports and prospects for future growth.